NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says MPs who allegedly “intentionally” collaborated with foreign governments are “traitors to the country.”
Singh spoke on Thursday after reviewing the unredacted version of a bombshell report by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP), which was published last week.
“There are a number of MPs who have knowingly provided aid to foreign governments, some to the detriment of Canada and Canadians,” Singh told reporters.
“What they are doing is unethical. In some cases it is against the law,” said the NDP leader. “In fact, they are traitors to the country.”
“The findings that are publicly available suggest that there are a number of parliamentarians who engaged in activities that were unethical, in some cases illegal or criminal. After having read the unredacted version. “I agree with that finding.”
His comments contrast with Green Party leader Elizabeth May’s comments after reading the full NSICOP report. Both leaders have security clearances to review the material.
May was the first opposition leader to read the unredacted document and said she was “very relieved” by what she says she found there, calling the “media storm” surrounding the NSICOP report “overblown.”
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But Singh said he doesn’t feel “relieved” after reading the full text.
“I’m more worried today… than yesterday.”
May had told reporters that “I’m not worried about anyone in the House of Commons. “There is no list of parliamentarians who have shown disloyalty to Canada.”
The New Democrat refused to answer repeated questions about whether May was wrong, instead blaming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who received the report in March, and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who did not request security clearance to read it. The report. document.
““I’m more concerned about what I’ve learned, and it really highlights to me the failure of the leadership of both Justin Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre,” Singh said.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc has so far refused to provide the names of parliamentarians who “intentionally” collaborated with foreign governments, or any details beyond what appears in the public version of the NSICOP report.
The Minister of Public Safety says he is bound by Canada’s Official Secrets Act and that revealing their identities would violate the law and potentially endanger national security.
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